The New Lord
by The Purple Maid
Summary: Darren is busy preparing for his forth trial,when he becomes the victim of what he believes is a strange practical joke involving a coffin. But when a group of Vampaneze appear, bringing with them news Darren could never believe, he is forced to flee his home in the mountain, and undertake a new, unscripted journey. All Hail Darren Shan, Lord Of The Vampaneze.
1. Chapter 1

_I'm falling, falling into eternity, falling into nothingness. All my friends are stood above me, Mr Crepsley at the front, making the death's touch sign. I try to scream, but no words come out. I try to grab something, but there's nothing to hold on to. I try to breath, but I'm suffocating. Suddenly, flames engulf me, they cover my arms and legs and the rest of my body. But they don't burn. They don't even sting. The faces of my friend's disappear and are replaced by my enemies. At least 20 purple skinned vampaneze, all pointing at me. I start to panic, then I realise what's happening. They are helping me; one of them reaches out to me and tries to grab my hand, which I pull back. Another one grabs for me and, together, they pull me up and out of the darkness and the flames, into the light. They force me down onto the ground, and I think they are going to kill me but then, then…_

I jolted awake, screaming, heart pounding, as the horror of my nightmare washed over me .The room around me was eerily silent as i swung my legs over the side of my hammock, and took a deep breath. I needed to try and get back to sleep-I had my next trial (the blooded boars) The day after tomorrow-and i needed all the rest i could get. Right now though, sleep just seemed impossible. My hammock seemed as far from welcoming as it could get. Instead, I dragged myself up, and forced myself out of the room, thinking of something to do. The day was still young, i realised, as the tunnels around me were empty-everyone else was asleep, i was alone. So, Having nothing else to do, and with sleep not an option, i headed down the tunnels, hoping to maybe simply get a drink, or an early day bite to eat.

"Darren? Darren...wake up." Harkats voice filled my brain as i raised my head, and blinked open my eyes. Liquid dripped from the tips of my hair, and down my face, as i sleepily looked around. I was in the hall of Kheldon Lurt, which was now full with the early night risers of the clan, each of them yawing and mumbling as they shook themselves out of their lethargy. Many of them seemed to be staring at me. Wiping my face with my hand, i groaned as i realised i had fallen asleep in my bat broth, and now had a face full of the salty, sticky soup.  
"Darren...you better go wash up…" Harkat instructed, as he stared at the mess i was currently wearing "You have...training today." I groaned again, too tired to try and force words out of my half open mouth, but mustering the energy to get up and wave goodbye, i found myself back in the tunnels; this time on my way to the hall of Perta Vin-Grahl, ready to shower the sleep out of my tired eyes. When I arrived, the halls were bare-the crashing water roaring loudly against the silence as i stripped to my underwear (I was still uncomfortable with stripping naked) , and prepared for my watering awakening. At first, the sudden chill of the waterfall suffocated me, as the cold liquid covered me from head to toe-but after a few seconds my body adjusted to the temperature, and i let myself almost enjoy the icy shower. No more than five minutes later though, it began to get too much-and, so, shivering, I took a step out, and got redressed. I felt so much better, and much more awake-but i knew the day would be tiring, and i was still exhausted-Surely a little nap couldn't hurt? Besides, the sun was only just beginning to set, and Mr Crepsley would come find me when he wanted me, as would any of the others. With that decided, i made way to what could have been called my bedroom. If my Hammock hadn't been welcoming earlier, it sure was now.

Yet, when i returned to my bedroom, my hammock had disappeared. In its place stood a large wooden coffin. This had to be someones idea of a joke, and not a funny one at that. II hated coffins, but right now i would take what i could get. I just wanted to rest. So, having no other choice, i took off the note and lifted up the lid. It creaked as it rose. I examined the inside, it wasn't cushioned or anything like that, it was just simple wood with weird circular things on the side. I sighed as I thought about the comfort of my hammock and climbed into the hard wooden box. I left the lid open, not wanting to feel enclosed, but it didn't stay open. It slammed shut, causing me to panic. I was suffocating; my lungs had no air to shout out. Flames swallowed me whole, tickling me with their touch. Not burning, and not stinging. My eyes were ablaze with the bright light of the flames. Then it stopped. The lid swung open and I could breathe again. It was like my dream, but I knew it was reality, it felt too real. Someone gasped behind me and I turned around to be greeted by at least 25 red-eyed vampaneze. I was outnumbered, I was dead. I backed against the wall and closed my eyes, preparing to die. It never came, it never happened. I opened my eyes and looked in front of me, the vampaneze were kneeling and staring at me "All hail Darren Shan." They hissed "The old vampire- the new lord of the vampaneze."


	2. Chapter 2

I promise this story gets much, much better after the first few chapters! So please stay with it, and please review!

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"What?" I asked the vampaneze, shakily.

"All hail Darren Shan. Old vampire-new lord of the vampaneze!" they repeated

"How is that possible?"

"You withstood the fire." One of the vampaneze answered, "My name is Gannen Harst." He added after an afterthought.

"Well then, Gannen Harst. I suggest you leave now before I call the princes." I replied, I felt the need to be as friendly as possible. Not because I wanted to, but because there was twenty of them and one of me. They could kill me in a heartbeat!

"We cannot leave without our lord." Gannon said

"SHUT UP!" I screamed, and prepared to die. I knew I'd made a mistake.

"As you wish." Silence fell. Nobody spoke, nobody moved. After about twenty seconds I became fed up.

"What do you really want?"

"You, you are our lord. You shall lead us to victory against the vampire clan, you..."

"NO!" I interrupted "I shall never betray my clan, and stand up." They were still kneeling in front of me and it was getting on my nerves.

"As you wish." They all stood up together and stared at me. "What now?"

"You leave and find a new lord?" I suggested. They almost laughed at this. "I'm being serious, I'm not your lord and never will be." I told then

"How very wrong you are, you daft half-vampire." Before I had time to reply they grabbed my arms and pulled me out the room. I wanted to scream but I couldn't. As soon as I would have screamed they would have shut me up. It was pointless resisting against them. They dragged me through the tunnels and deeper and deeper into the mountain. At one point I heard the gushing crashes of water, which I guessed was the river above. Where were they taking me? Eventually we stopped and they let me go. My first instinct was to run, to alert the princes of their presence, to kill them all. I didn't and I don't know why I didn't.

"You shall stay with us." Gannen said

"No... I have to get back to my..."

"You are our lord and you shall stay." He interrupted me. I only then realised that he hadn't looked at me whenever he was talking to me, he was obviously disgusted by the fact his lord was a little half-vampire.

"For the last time, I'm a vampire. I am not your lord. I am Darren Shan." I almost screamed the last two words, if I was armed I would have stabbed the stupid vampaneze there and then, but I wasn't and they were.

"You are our lord." Gannen repeated.

"I'm not your lord." I said, once again. "Why do you even think that I am?"

"You withstood the fire."

"STOP SAYING THAT? What does that even mean?"

"It means you withstood the fire. It means you are our lord." That was all they kept saying, over and over 'you are our lord, you are our lord' the words rung in my ears. I couldn't take it anymore, I was not their lord. I would never hurt my friends, I could never...

"THAT'S IT!" I yelled. "Leave all of you; go back to the sewers or wherever you came from. I don't care, just leave me alone."

"We cannot leave without our lord." Gannen insisted.

"AHHHHH" I went mental, they were killing me inside. 'I am Darren Shan, I am Darren Shan, and I am Darren Shan. Vampire, not vampaneze' I screamed inside my head. Then, I screamed it too then as loud as I could "I AM DARREN SHAN. I AM DARREN SHAN. VAMPIRE. NOT VAMPANEZE!"

"That can easily be sorted."

"What?" I gulped.

"You are a vampire, not vampaneze."

"And?"

"That can easily be sorted. It may be dangerous and it may hurt, but it can be sorted."

"You're not going to...?" I knew what was coming and I didn't like it.

"You must be converted. You must join us. You must become a _real _creature of the night."

"You can't make me. I don't want to..." I mumbled, too scared to speak louder.

"It is not about what you want. It is about destiny. Destiny has decided that you are our lord..." That was all they said before grabbing my arms, thrusting them forward and stabbing my fingers with their sharp nails. I tried to resist, I tried as hard as I could, but it didn't work. "You are vampaneze not vampire..." Gannen grinned before pressing his finger tips against mine and chuckling as he watched me squirm...


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is rather short, but they will get longer again! Thanks to the reviews for my first chapter :)

"Charna's Guts! What is he doing here?" I heard a familiar voice yell.

"He is our..." Gannen began.

"Shut it!" I heard the voice shout "Darren? Darren, are you Ok?" I opened my eyes to stare at the person above me; I was laid on the floor for some reason.

"Kurda?" I whispered "Is that you?"

"Yes. You're ok now."

"They're here Kurda, the vampan..."

"SHH." He interrupted me "you need rest. Go to sleep."

"But..."

"No buts. Go to sleep."

"Ok" I groaned before closing my eyes. I was exhausted and my body ached all over. Kurda was here now, he would alert the princes, and we would be safe. I couldn't rest, I couldn't think either. The last thing I remembered was stepping out of the coffin and staring into the eyes of the vampaneze. It was terrible. I decided to give up on sleeping, I couldn't sleep anyway. "Kurda?" I mumbled as I opened my eyes two minutes later. Kurda was stood talking to the vampaneze and they obviously thought that I was asleep. He didn't look to be hurting them, or they him, which was weird. Most vampires would attack them straight away.

"He's only a boy." I heard Kurda insist to one of the purple-skinned men.

"But he is our lord, the coffin of fire proved it."

"The coffin of fire? You tried to murder him?"

"No." The vampaneze replied.

"But you weren't expecting him to come out alive, where you?"

"No" the man admitted.

"Why would you do that? We're trying to achieve peace with the vampire clan. Not murder them all."

"Desmond Tiny warned us of the boy. He told us to beware the child prince. The guardians of the coffin were made to come on this journey under Desmond Tinys orders. This is why."

"But in case you haven't noticed, this boy is not a prince is he. He's just a little half-vampire..."

"Vampaneze." The vampaneze corrected him.

"And that's another matter. You re-blooded him?"

"Yes, we couldn't have a vampire lord."

"You should have found a new lord." Kurda insisted.

"We couldn't. Destiny has decided that Darren Shan is our lord." At this point al my memories came flooding back. Them, chanting the same words over and over' You are our lord, you are our lord.' They had re-blooded me; I wasn't a vampire any more.

"What would you have done if the blooding failed?"

"It would not have failed. It failing would have denied destiny. "

"I don't care about Destiny." Kurda replied. "But he is still only a half-blood, right?"

"Yes, he cannot be fully blooded until he has learnt our ways."

"This is terrible, you have destroyed my plan. I cannot reunite the clans now the lord has been revealed."

"Now that we have found our lord, our loyalties lie elsewhere whether we like it or not" The Vampaneze-I think his name was Gannen-replied.

"You have cursed us all. You and your stupid plans. You must leave NOW!" Kurda told them.

"No, we must stay. We must destroy the vampire clan."

"You shall not destroy the clan. I will stop you."

"Will you really stand in the way of our lord?"

"Of course I wi..." I watched in horror as Kurda as silenced. Gannen had pulled out his blade and shoved it deep into Kurda's chest. I had to stop him, I had to save Kurda, but I couldn't. My legs wouldn't move, I was too weak after my re-blooding. I had to lay there and watch as Kurda collapsed onto the floor, wailing in pain. He landed directly in front of me and stared into my eyes. "I'm so sorry" I whispered as the life left his eyes and his spirit left for paradise...


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to my reviewer for my last chapter! :) I hope you all enjoy this one! 

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"You killed Kurda." I croaked quietly to Gannen.

"He needed to die." He answered; he didn't seem surprised that I was awake.

"No one needs to die."

"He knew too much. He would have told the princes about us now that we have abandoned him." I was about to argue back when he interrupted me. "Are you ok?" he asked thoughtfully, his concern surprising me.

"I'm fine." I replied whilst trying to stand up, but failing.

"Here, my lord. Let me help you up." One of the other vampaneze said, before Gannen stopped him.

"Leave him." He hissed. "He must get up on his own. Our lord must be strong, both mentally and physically."

"I don't want your help anyway." I said as I only just managed to get to my feet.

"Good. Our lord must be independent in his own way." Gannen replied "Now, you must feed."

"Where is he supposed to feed?" The vampaneze that had tried to help me up asked. "We haven't fed properly in at least three weeks."

"Well..." Gannen said as I prepared myself for the word "he must go back into the mountain." That wasn't what I expected him to say. I didn't have a clue what he was going to say but I certainly didn't expect that.

"But he is vampaneze now. They shall kill him as soon as they smell him."

"He is newly re-blooded, the vampire scent shall still linger on him for at least a day, and the vampaneze scent shall not be noticeable till then." Gannen replied.

"Don't I get a say in this?" I asked shakily.

"No, my lord. Come you must feed." Gannen insisted, whilst grabbing my arm and pulling me back into the tunnels of the mountain. I was barely managing to stay up-right. I wanted to protest against Gannen, to tell him that I was leaving and re-joining the vampire clan. I couldn't, I was too weak and my voice was sore. I needed blood and soon.

"I must leave you here my lord," Gannen told me as we got closer to the vampire clan "Go feed and return soon before your vampaneze scent is noticeable."

Before Gannen had even finished his sentence, I ran towards the vampires- I couldn't run very fast as I had just been re-blooded- but I ran as fast as I could.

"Darren?" I heard Mr Crepsley calling as I reached the hall of Khledon Lurt. "Darren, where are you?"

"I'm here." I shouted back.

"Where did you go, and have you seen Kurda? The princes are looking for him."

"I just went for a walk and I haven't seen Kurda. Last time I saw him, he was going to explore the mountain." I lied, I couldn't tell Larten the truth or he would have known that I was down there with them.

"Oh. Are you ok? You look horrible." Larten commented.

"Thanks." I smiled sarcastically. "I think I'm just thirsty."

"Really Darren, you must feed yourself or you shall end up it a far worse state than you are in now."

"I know" I sighed as we sat down at one of the tables and helped ourselves to bat broth and a bottle of blood each. I wolfed the broth down as quickly as I could and drank the blood a couple of seconds.

"How long has it been since you have eaten?" My mentor asked.

"Er..." I didn't know what to say, I couldn't even remember. "Don't know."

"You need to build up your strength for tomorrow. When you have finished in here you must go rest." Tomorrow? Of course, tomorrow was my fourth trial- the blooded bores. What would Mr Crepsley say if I didn't show up to my trial? More importantly, what would the princes say? I wanted to go to my trial and prove myself to be a true vampire but I knew I couldn't. I would have to leave whether I liked it or not. I was vampaneze now, and it was my destiny to go join their clan.

"Darren?" Mr Crepsley interrupted my thoughts "Darren, what do you think?"

"What?" I asked, dazed.

"You really should listen, Darren. I said that...DARREN." he shouted as I started to think again. I really couldn't be bothered to listen to him. There were more important things to worry about; me being the vampaneze lord for example. "What now?" I moaned.

"Nothing. I shall tell you later. Would you like some more broth, or perhaps some fried rat?"

"Yes please. Can I have both and is there anymore blood?" I asked as he helped himself to some more food and then passed me some.

"You should not drink so much."

"But I'm thirsty..." I groaned.

"Fine. Take some blood and be quiet." He said as he reluctantly gave me another bottle of blood, which I gulped down in seconds. Again. Larten watched, amazed as I downed the bottle, before speaking. "Can you smell that Darren?" he asked me.

"Small what?" I gulped.

"Vampaneze."

"No. Why would I be able to smell vampaneze?" I was getting worried now, if he knew the truth he would kill me on the spot.

"I can smell it, but the scent is weak. It is mixing with the scent of vampires."

"I honestly can't smell anything."

"I can. You must go and rest while I need to find Kurda and alert him of my suspicion."

"What suspicion?" I asked innocently.

"You were not listening, were you? My suspicion that there are vampaneze in the mountain. I can smell them."

"How can tell that it's not just vampire blood?" I said, trying to convince my mentor that he was wrong.

"You daft boy." He insulted me "The blood of a vampire smells clean compared to the blood of a vampaneze. There are definitely vampaneze here." Was all he said before walking off to find Kurda. He would never find him , and I knew it, but right now I had to run. Run back to the vampaneze and leave. I wasn't going to betray my clan-ever- but I wasn't going to sit around and be slaughtered by them either. I was sure as I ran back to my enemy- my new clan? - That I would kill all of the vampaneze before they hurt the vampires, or me.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks again to my reviewers :)

"Darren, did you feed?"

Gannen asked as I somehow managed to find my way back to the vampaneze without getting lost.

"No time... Larten... Vampires...coming." I puffed; I had run through all of the tunnels.

"What?" Gannen nearly shouted, startling the rest of the vampaneze.

"The vampires are coming...The smell. They could smell me." I said as when I'd caught my breath.

"How long have we got? Do you know?" He asked me hesitantly.

"Not long. Larten's looking for Kurda, he thinks he came down here to explore. He'll be here soon."

"Right...we must leave and now." He said "The sun is just about to set so we should be able to leave in less than ten minutes."

"WE HAVEN'T GOT TEN MINUTES." I shouted, I didn't like working with the vampaneze but I really didn't fancy being dropped onto stakes in the hall of death. If I had to choose then I would choose the vampaneze! "We have to go now. The sun is low, it will start burning after about ten minutes, and if we hurry then we can get to shelter by then."

"But..." a different red-eyed man answered.

"Shut up. We can flit but one of you is gonna have to carry me. I can't flit yet." They all stared at me in shock "Don't just stand there, MOVE!" I ordered as they all just stood motionless, staring at me. "I am your lord and I order you to move." I said as Gannens thin lips shaped to form a smile.

"What are you smiling about, move!"

"You are our lord!" He said, still smiling. It took at least ten seconds for me to realise what he meant. I had called myself their lord. I had shouted it without even thinking, like it was normal for me- a little half-vampire- to become the lord of the vampaneze and kill all of my friends. I didn't have time to linger on the thought though as I could hear footsteps approaching. "Can you hear that?" I whispered and the vampaneze nodded. "We have to leave now, we have to flit. Gannen, I'll travel on your back. Now let's go." I continued quietly as the vampaneze got ready to flit and I climbed onto Gannens back. "On the count of three...1...2...3." I whispered. As soon as I had finished counting they started running. The world flew past in a multi-coloured blur, the brown dirt walls of the mountain soon transformed into green trees. "Where are we going?" Gannen managed to ask as he flitted.

"There's a way station around here somewhere." I answered; I remembered the way stations from when Larten and I had journeyed up the mountain together. Within two minutes we had stopped running and were sat resting in the way station. We were waiting 'till night to leave; we had only been outside for five minutes but the vampanezes skin had already become a colour that matched their eyes! Everyone but me was sat dinking the many bottles of blood that were kept here. I watched them all, they drunk one bottle within seconds and moved onto the next one-like I did after I had been re-blooded. Seeing them drink got me thinking. Now that I was a half-vampaneze I would have to drain my victims dry, I would have to kill when I fed. I never liked feeding in the first place; I certainly didn't want to kill when I did it. I'd only been with the vampaneze for about an hour and I was already missing my friends. Mr Crepsley had treated me like a son; even when I had hated him and wanted to kill to kill him. Harkat had been my best friend; he had supported me throughout my trials and whenever I needed him. Thinking about Harkat led me to think about my trials; I would never complete them now. I would never be accepted into the clan as a true vampire, but I had to remind myself; I wasn't a vampire anymore. I was a vampaneze. I kept repeating the words in my head. I kept telling myself that I had changed, that I was a vampaneze; but I was lying to myself. I wasn't _just_ a vampaneze; I was the lord of the vampaneze. The whole race of purple-skinned men was at my command; they would have to do whatever I said. That was when it hit me; I could tell them to make peace with the vampire clan. I could get them to stop fighting and they would have to do what I said. It was perfect, it was the best plan ever apart from one little problem-how would I get the vampires to accept the vampaneze? I could have told them that we surrender; that we want to be friends but they probably wouldn't believe that. I could have told them that he vampaneze were holding me hostage (They still didn't know I was half-vampaneze) and that they would only let me go if the two clans could reunite but that plan was worse than the first one. That left me one option- I would have to sneak back into the mountain and...And...I couldn't think of another plan. I was out of options. I would have to think of something or die. I would rather die than be the lord of the vampaneze and betray the vampires- or at least I thought I would. I wasn't sure... I had run away when I heard Mr Crepsley coming because I was scared at the time. Would I run again next time I was faced with death? My mind buzzed with thoughts and questions...It was too much to think about! I placed my head on the cold wall of the cave and within minutes had fallen asleep. You have no idea how tired a re-blooding makes you; even hours after you've been re-blooded!


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks for my reviews so far :) This chapter there's a huge plot twist! there was a few directions in which the story could have gone, but i asked many people and they chose this one! _

"I woke up about two hours later to find the vampaneze asleep in coffins. I felt like killing them all straight away, I wanted to but I didn't. My instincts told me it was wrong; they weren't the enemy anymore. My stupid vampaneze blood was controlling me. I wanted to run, to become a vampire again but deep inside me something told me I should stay. It felt like it was Destiny and I had to accept it, no matter how much i didn't want to. With nothing else to do, I grabbed myself a bottle of blood and decided to try and think of a plan. I sat there for ages coming up with different ideas; each of them worse than the last one; Eventually, I gave up. We would have to sneak into the mountain and improvise. Maybe, if I explained the situation to the vampires, they would accept us, or maybe they would slaughter us all. I didn't want that to happen but it was a risk I decided to take, what other choice did i have? I couldn't just do as they wished, i couldn't let myself start a war. I was going to explain my 'plan' to the others when they woke, they probably wouldn't like it but I didn't care. I could have just told them that we were going back to the mountain and not have told them why, but I couldn't. I hated being lied to and I guessed they would too. I had to tell them the truth, it would make us more prepared if i did anyway. It was around one in the morning when they finally woke up; they yawned and stretched before getting out of their coffins. "Morning." I said cheerfully as they stood up. "Morning my lord." Some of them replied.  
"Can you all just wait here for a second please?" I asked them as they started to walk outside of the cave into the moonlight. They stopped and stared at me when I asked. I think they were confused.  
"Right..." I began, not sure where to start "So, we need to go back to the mountain."  
"As soon as I'd finished my sentence angry muttering started. "Silence." I ordered. "We need to go back into the mountain and try and make peace with the vampires..."  
"Peace? We can't make peace with them. They are our enemy." Gannen insisted "We have tried to make peace."  
"When?" I asked, bewildered at the thought that this was even a concept they had imagined, never mind tried.  
"With Kurda Smahlt." He told me "That is why we were there. Kurda had plans to reunite the two clans but then you were discovered."  
"That's why you were there? You wanted to make peace." I questioned.  
"We did but now we do not."  
"Tough. I am your lord and I say we are going back to the mountain." I insisted, if Gannen was telling the truth, then these vampaneze had wanted to make peace at some point-that was always an advantage to the situation, as they would surely take less convincing.  
"When?" Gannen sighed.  
"Now."  
"But we have just left the mountain..."" another vampaneze began.  
"We're going, end of story. Now come on, bring some blood to drink and let's leave." They didn't seem happy with my orders but obeyed them anyway; they didn't have any other choice. They grabbed as much blood as they could carry and left the cave. Gannen asked if I wanted to ride on his back while they flitted but I refused; I needed fresh air to clear my head. I set off outside up the steep mountain; we were in the way station closest to the tunnel we had been hiding in so it would only take me about two hours to walk up there. I set off slowly, walking at a slow speed and taking in my surroundings. I had missed the fresh air when I had been cooped up inside. The time passed quickly as I climbed; it felt nice just to be alone with my thoughts. Hours had passed since I started climbing but it seemed like it only took minutes to reach the entrance to the mountain. I could tell i was nearly there when the silence stopped. The closer I got to the tunnels the louder the sounds became; eventually the soft whistle of the wind was replaced by screams of anger and pain. I began to worry as the sounds got louder and louder; it sounded like fighting. I ran the final stretch up to the tunnel and almost screamed when I got to the tunnel entrance. It was horrific. Swords and knifes clashed as the fight roared. Vampires and vampaneze wrestled to the death. I couldn't understand how this had happened. The vampaneze had only been here a couple of hours and some were already dead. Blood covered the walls and floor and it was mainly vampaneze blood. I couldn't see one vampire injured; they were good fighters. I looked around; Arra Sails was in combat with Gannen, until Gavner took over and she ran to join Mr Crepsley, who was defending himself against two vampaneze at the same time. I hid behind the tunnel entrance; not wanting to be seen. I sat down and sighed. My friends were fighting against my clan and I didn't know whose side I was on. I knew which side i wanted to be on-there was no choice about that-but my head was telling me other things. I had come here to make peace but instead I started a battle. I sat there, breathing heavily, with teary eyes until the battle raged down. Silence fell and I was once again left alone with my thoughts. I had to look inside to see who had been killed. I guessed that all the vampaneze had as none had come running out to me; none had escaped. I stood up slowly and entered the tunnel. All of my clan lay dead on the floor having taken their last breaths. I took a step forward before stopping. Someone was sat in front of me nursing an injured leg, luckily for me they were facing the opposite way. I turned towards the exit as silently as I could, trying not to alert the vampire of my presence, but I was a bit too loud. At the same time as I turned around so did the vampire and he noticed me. "Darren? Is that you?" he asked; I recognised the voice immediately.  
"Yes." I answered, not turning around to look at him.  
"Where have you been? Have you been fighting?"  
"No. I went for a walk."  
"Oh. They were here Darren. The vampaneze. We fought them and we won."  
"You don't sound too happy about it." I commented.  
"Why should I be? We lost some of our clan."  
"Who?" I asked calmly, when he didn't reply I shouted it to him "WHO?"  
"Gavner." He replied bluntly.  
"What happened to your leg?" I questioned, trying not to think about Gavner Purl.  
"I broke it in the fight. It was the vampaneze who killed Gavner. Luckily he was injured also so I was able to kill him." The vampaneze who killed Gavner? I asked myself. It must have been Gannen; he was the last person I saw fighting with him. To think, he was nearly my friend, or at least as much as a friend a vampaneze could be.  
"Oh. Shouldn't you have it seen to?" I asked.  
"No. It shall be fine."  
"Well, Gavner will be missed."  
"Yes. Especially by..."He began.  
"What are you still doing here anyway?" I interrupted him.  
"I could ask you the same thing." He smiled. "Turn around Darren." He ordered "Please. Come and sit down with me."  
"No. I'm fine." How many did you kill?" I asked him, I had tears in my eyes now.  
"About five or six. Quite a large amount." he replied. I felt like crying, I may have hated the vampaneze but they were my clan. Something was telling me I would miss them as much as I would miss Gavner. "Now please will you look at me?" He continued. I turned around and looked at him, he was a pitiful sight. His clothes were stained in blood, he had a broken leg and his face had gained more scratches. He managed to stand up and smile. I didn't smile back. Hatred burned in my eyes; he had killed some of my clan, including Gannen. My Vampaneze blood overruled everything else and I grinned easily. I picked up one of the blood stained knifes that had been left behind off of the floor. What was happening to me? I had to stop this, and stop it now. My mind panicked, and i tried so so hard to stop. I tried to release the knife, but it was like something else was controlling me. My grip didn't loosen. br /span"What are you doing Darren?" He asked me. I didn't reply. I stepped forward slowly, my hand tightly gripping the handle of knife. "You killed them." I whispered before jamming the knife straight into his heart. He was injured; an easy opponent, there was no contest. My hand finally released the knife as I realised what I had done; it fell to the floor with a crash. I had killed him. I had atually killed him. Why would i do such a thing? My heart raced and my breathing rate increased. I was scared and alone. I had nowhere to go so I ran; I didn't run to anywhere in particular, I just followed the chilly wind. Tears fell down my cold cheeks as I ran. I hated myself now. He had been my friend and I had killed him. I had killed him; my friend, my brother, my mentor. I had killed Larten Crepsley...


	7. Chapter 7

**I apologise for the lateness of this update! I've been on holiday for a month, so ive had no computer or internet access! This chapter is short, but they will get longer again :)**

* * *

_I woke up in Vampire Mountain and it was all a dream. Mr Crepsley is still alive and I'm still a lovable half vampire and everything is fine and there are no creepy vampaneze saying 'my Lord' all the time. Kurda's still happy and carrying his maps everywhere and all there never was a big fight (which unfortunately means that none of the vampaneze died!) I never ever got re-blooded and the vampaneze never stepped foot in the mountain and...and..._

No. I paused, refraining from telling myself any more of these stupid childish lies. Being scared to admit reality wasn't going to help my situation, not that I deserved to be helped. I didn't want to sit around feeling sorry for myself, but couldn't bring myself to do much else. My eyes stung with tears that wouldn't fall as i sat nestled in between the trees in the woods, as i had been for quite a while. I was a coward, i should have helped Larten, instead i ran and now here i was. I had ran as far as my legs could carry me, into part of the woods that was unknown to me. What would happen now? My head buzzed with questions. Surely by now they'd have noticed Larten was missing, if not found him. They couldn't have known i was the culprit, could they? If they did, i would be known as a traitor-I'd be carried screaming and kicking to the hall of death, before being dropped backwards on the stakes until i died. True, i hated myself right now, but i didn't want to die, not like that-no matter how much i deserved it. I'd just have to wait and see what happened, it's not like i'd be the prime suspect anyway, not with the other vampaneze about. I sat thinking for what felt like days, but could have been no more than a few hours. The almost silence of the forest relaxed me slightly, with the only sound i was able to hear the rushing current from the stream nearby. After a while, my eyes started to close and i struggled to open them. I hadn't realised how tired i was until now. Just as i was about to drift off to sleep, i bolted up, as alert as i could be, as the sound of crunching footsteps approached me. I spun my head towards as many directions as i could,to be on guard, but was still startled when the owner of the footsteps stopped before me. His bright shoes were more than highly visible in the darkness of the night, and my breath caught as i realised whose shoes they were.  
"Ah, Darren. I knew i'd find you here." His voice was soft, but sounded almost like a constant snicker. When i didn't reply, he frowned. "What's the matter? Are you sad because you killed Larten?" I felt my jaw drop as the words came from his mouth. How on earth did he know about that? No one was supposed to know about that. "Don't be too sad, you'll see him again soon."  
"No." I finally built up the courage to talk. There was only one way i could see Larten now, and i didn't want to die.  
"Whatever do you mean?" He asked, dumbstruck "You shall."  
"No." I repeated myself again, louder this time.  
"Darren, Darren, Darren!" He scolded me "No point sitting around here sulking though is there? You have a war to start." I glared at him, causing his to gasp sarcastically."You don't want to start a war?" He asked, before answering his own question. "Of course you do, you are the lord of the vampaneze, afterall."  
"No!" I repeated one last time.  
"Come Darren." His voice grew stern. " I know you wish to see Larten again but that can be arranged, without you dying, may i add. First we alert your people that you have been discovered."

"They were all killed." I shook my head at him, how could he have not known that?  
"That was not all of them. There a few hundred out there Darren. Now, come." He ordered. I stayed where I was. "Honestly, children." He spat "Their blood is delicious but they are as stubborn as hell." There was a few seconds silence in which he studied me, before grinning. "Tell you what Darren. If you come with me now I shall let you see Larten again, if not then you can't." I thought about it; He had promised me that i wouldn't die, and i was pretty sure that he never went back on his promised. Besides, surely it could do no worse harm than me just sitting here, and i did want to see Larten again-if not just to apologise for killing him. I sighed, before nodding.  
"Fine."

"Good boy, Darren" I nodded again, as i stood and followed him as he began to leave. I knew i was making a mistake, But i needed Larten; Without him i didn't know how i was going to cope. That's what made me say yes, but If only i had realised what i had done. It was worse than killing my mentor, it was the worse thing i had ever done. I'd made a deal , A deal with Desmond Tiny.


	8. Chapter 8

I slumped forward through the darkness, my body aching after the hours of stillness sat in the same position. Mr Tiny obviously could see i was aching and suggested i 'shake it off', but i really didn't care. In my mind i deserved to hurt; after all, it was nothing compared to what i'd done to Mr Crepsley. I saw his lips stretch into a thin smile as we reached the end of the huddle of trees, as he put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small medical bag full of blood, before tossing it to me. I wasn't prepared, or really paying attention, and it fell to the ground with a loud sloshing noise. I grabbed it, and was ready to tear the top off and drink the entire thing, before i stopped myself. Sure, i was thirsty, but drinking it would almost seem too rewarding. I should be punished for what i'd done,i should punish myself-no one else was going to. I threw it back to the ground and sighed, and as i did so Desmond shook his head, his disapproval obvious. He didn't say anything though as he grabbed his pocket watch and starting messing with the dials on the side, within seconds some sort of shimmering portal opened up in front of us. It made a hole in the view ahead of us, shimmering with a darkness that made me uneasy. "Through you go now, boy" I shook my head and swallowed, hard. I didn't want to do this-he shouldn't be trusted, but right now what other choice did I have? Taking a deep, shaky breath i stepped through.

The darkness seemed to consume me whole, and my body went numb. I almost panicked, but I didn't have time to-within seconds I could feel clean, fresh air cold on my skin, and the light had returned. I now found myself in what seemed to be a large cave, but it wasn't like any other cave I'd ever seen. The walls were lined with paintings, both ones new to me and, strangely enough, some of the more famous well known ones. There were cars, costumes, ornaments and too many other things to count littered across the cavern; a large amount of it seemed almost antique. Historians would go mad in this place! "Admiring my collection, Darren?" Desmond grinned as he stepped through the portal after me and saw me staring at a couple of the paintings. I nodded in reply, too tired to do much else. "Come now, I have a surprise for you" I turned to him, seeing that he'd already started walking away from where I was stood, and I tried to rush so i could follow. Whatever surprise he had for me, I knew it couldn't be good, not at all. We walked for what must have been a few minutes, and as we walked I realised that if I had any chance of not getting lost in this place I had to stay with Mr Tiny.  
Every corner we turned just let to more ornaments and artifacts, all as old and rare and valuable as the one before it. The last room we entered was closed off from any others, with only one exit in and out of the cavern. In the middle of it, just off to the side sat a large pond. I stared at it, half in ore half disgusted by what i saw. The liquid inside was green and most certainly not any type of water. It shimmered as it moved despite the lack of light in the the cavern, and it moved despite the lack of any obvious forces affecting it. It didn't manage to keep my attention for very long though, as behind the strange pool, curled on the floor was…

"LARTEN!" I yelled, ignoring the echo that bounced back, hurting my sensitive ears. His face was unusually pale, even for a vampire, and his body was still; dried blood was crusted around the edge of the wound where I had stabbed him. His eyes were wide open-but they showed no emotion. They were cold and empty, and his face was still frozen with the look of horror that i'd last seen etched upon it. It took me a moment to notice, but by now tears were falling down my reddened cheeks, and it took all my power to hold back the sobs. "I'm so sorry…" I whispered, reaching down to neaten his hair. It didn't make a difference now, not to him, but it was a small justice to me. He needed to be respected, especially now that he was dead. "What are you doing with him?" I asked Desmond softly, not turning away from the body on the ground. When silence was his only answer, i raised my voice and repeated the question, momentarily forgetting how weak I was. This time, he laughed. His thin lips shaped a twisted grin on his face, and he laughed.  
"Now, Darren, Patience. All shall be explained shortly" I was about to yell again, to get mad at him, when the realisation hit me. I looked at the pool of murky green water, then back over to Larten. "You're not...you're not going to put him in there?"  
"Clever little boy, aren't you?" Desmond smirked at the mortified expression on my face "Not all of him, of course. Just his bones"  
"But...no...Why?"  
"You want to see him alive again, don't you?" I nodded, what was he trying to say? There was no way this liquid could bring Larten back to life. "Then if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." He pushed past me and bent down next to Mr Crepsley" I suggest you leave now, Darren. Try not to break anything outside of this room or it'll be worth your life" I stared at him, getting ready to leave before pausing.  
"Where did you get the body?" I asked, finding it hard to do more than whisper my words.  
"The guardians of blood" He answered my question without hesitation. I thought back-I could recall seeing the guardians of blood once before, but were certain they were in a league with the vampaneze.  
"What? The guardians of blood? Does that mean…" I paused again. If the guardians of blood had been given the body, the vampires were the one to give it to them "Does that mean they found him dead?"  
"Of course." Was all he said before motioning me to leave the pool side. I walked back into the caves of his collection, and waited. There was so much here to explore, but i really didn't feel up to exploring any of it. I didn't know exactly what I was waiting for-what I was expecting to happen-but still I sat and waited. I couldn't leave Mr Crepsley, not again, and especially not alone here with Mr Tiny. It felt like hours before the short, plump man called me back into the cavern encasing the pool. When i entered, i immediately wanted to puke. The smell of blood and flesh hung in the air, and Lartens body lay a bloody mess on the floor. Skin and muscles torn from the skeleton, so that his bones now sat in a pile at Mr Tinys feet. I gagged, and immediately looked away-the sight far too much for me to handle.  
"I want you to watch this, Darren. Turn your head" I did as asked, knowing better than to annoy Mr Tiny. I made sure my eyes were directed at the pool and only the pool in an attempt to ignore the horror around it. Desmond picked the bones up-Lartens bones-and dropped them into the pool. The liquid bubbled and frothed as they sank, and I become almost transfixed.  
"what...What's happening?" I stuttered, blinking.  
"He is being re-born."  
"What?"  
"Honestly" He tutted, and sighed "Did your little friend not tell you how he was created?" Little friend? I shook my head, confused, before i realised what he meant and the sick feeling began t rise in my stomach again.  
"You're turning him into a little person?" I gasped as he nodded "But that's just...No!" I protested, causing him to smile.  
"It's too late now." I lowered myself to the floor, again trying to hold back sobs. My knees weak with both sadness and the simple fact I hadn't drunk in so long. "Now really, Darren…" He pulled another bag of blood out of his jacket and passed it to me, without breaking eye contact with the pool. This time i drank it, punishment be damned. I had to prepare for what the next few hours would bring, and I couldn't do it half-dead. I couldn't face my mentor again half-dead.  
"How...How exactly do you make a little person?" I asked, mainly trying to distract myself from the situation, but at the same time extremely curious.  
"Very easily" He responded. I was surprised he was answering my question. "I can use the bones of the dead, as I am now, or I can use their body from the lake-" He stopped, and frowned, obviously concerned he'd revealed too much. "I cannot tell you." His behaviour as confusing me. It was almost like he wanted to help me, but couldn't. Why would he want to help me? That was the biggest question in this entire situation. Why was he doing this? "I must again work now" He quickly changed the subject, motioning me to take a step back. He went round to the other side of the pool and began messing with a large variety of what appeared to be surgical instruments.

I didn't really pay much attention to what he was doing, and instead sat in silence, thinking and watching the liquid bubble. Larten had always been my friend. Would he hate me for killing him? Would he even recognise me or, like Harkat, would he not remember anything? The thing that scared me most about all this was that the Larten I knew would be gone. No more ginger hair and scarred cheek-all that lay as a mess, probably waiting to be fed to the rest of the little people pondering was only broken when tubes were placed into the pool-the other end attached to what Desmond had been working on. The liquid flowed through them, until the pool was drained. I was astonished to see that Lartens bones had vanished from the bottom as well. When they were empty, Desmond threw the tubes into the pool and took a step back, admiring his work. I stared at it, eyes wide with dis-belief. It was a little person, exactly like any other, except for the fact that it was Larten. Blue robes covered his sewn skin and a mask upon his face-as air was now fatal to him. I grinned shakily, again close to tears. In response, he pulled down his mask and smiled-revealing many sharp, yellow teeth. I guess this was it, he was back. Larten Crepsley-The Little Person.


	9. Chapter 9

For a moment i could do nothing but stand and stare, but after a few seconds i finally build up the courage to speak. "Mr...Crepsley? It's really you, isn't it?" I walked over and bent down to him, until i was staring into his large green eyes. He lowered the mask from his face, and took a small breath before "I'm sorry...Are you talking...to me?" I almost collapsed. The weight of his words seeming to crush me where i stood.  
"You do know who you are, right? Mr Crepsley?" He shook his head "Do you...do you know who i am?" Again, he shook his head, and I couldn't help but burst into tears.  
"Oh, Darren" Mr Tiny spat in disgust, obviously un-amused by how almost child-like I was being. "Don't cry now. It really is a shame but you can teach to go now boys, I really wish you could stay.." His tone was laced with an sadistic sarcasm, that made my skin tingle "But there's work to be done, off you go." I stood up, slowly, and before i even had time to gain my balance, he was shoving me forward. As he did so, he opened up yet another portal. This one was lighter than the one used to get here, and shimmered a light grey colour against the darkness of the cavern. Making sure Larten was following me, I stepped through reluctantly-not wanting to aggravate Mr Tiny any further. Expecting the other side to bring me back to the forest where I was hidden before, I didn't realise how wrong and unfortunate I could be.

I hit the ground, hard. It took me a few minutes to even manage to open my eyes and raise my head groggily off the floor, before slowly raising myself so i was sat-body aching and head spinning. I shook my head, and gave my vision a moment to clear before freezing still. My surroundings were immediately familiar to me "My room…" I smiled, lightly, as i realised we'd landed in mine and Harkats room at Vampire mountain. I took a sigh of relief, and leaned back against the wall. It took me far much longer than it should've to realise what was wrong. "Wait a minute...My room…." I repeated, beginning to panic. "CHARNA'S GUTS!" I shouted much louder than i had meant to, and quickly covered my mouth with my hand, waiting for the sound of footsteps down the hall. Luckily, none came. We were in my room, in vampire mountain. In other circumstances, this would have been perfect-but for the Lord of the vampaneze and his newly resurrected mentor, that everyone thought was dead? Maybe not so much. "Don't talk…" I whispered, turning to Larten "Even if you hear your name, no matter what anyone says, Don't talk." He nodded. After searching the room to find any form of weapon (I knew i had a knife in my bag or one of the chests somewhere), and placing it into my robe, I took a few silent steps towards the door. I hardly reached half way across the room before being Bowled back to the floor by a small, heavy figure-At first I thought it was Mr Crepsley, But when I looked a little closer I realised It was Harkat.  
"Darren!" He grinned at me, hugging my chest "Where have...You been?" I groaned, promising to tell him if he got off my chest and let me breath. Coughing, i managed to sit up before he noticed Mr Crepsley, and gasped. What was I meant to say? "I'll explain everything later, i have to go." Was all i said before grabbing Lartens hand and running out of the room. I could feel Harkats eyes watching behind me as I ran, but didn't stop to think about it. I needed to get out of here, and soon. Attempting to navigate the best and least crowded way out would have been difficult if i was in a more stable frame of mind, and so it didn't take me long to bump into a vampire. "Darren? Where have you been?" Seba blinked in astonishment, staring at me like he could hardly believe what he was seeing.  
"I…" I hesitated "Hi Seba!" Grinning sheepishly, i mumbled-attempting to hide Larten behind me. "Can you smell that?" He asked, wrinkling his nose, obviously now less concerned by my sudden reappearance. "Vampaneze…"  
"I can't smell anything?" I lied, as he sniffed the air again.  
"No, There are vampaneze here." He nodded "I must go alert the princes immediately." He took a step, but I stood in his way. "Darren, this is an emergency-if there are vampaneze in the mountain then-"  
"Then what?" I cut him off "Then you figure out a plan to go and slaughter them all?"  
"If it comes to that, then yes."  
"No." My voice lowered to a growl "I won't let you hurt them" He stared at me, and attempted to push past me. I pushed into him and-unprepared for the attack-he fell to the ground. It took him only a few seconds to compose himself and get up, ready to fight me, but those few seconds were all i needed to lunge and stick my blade-once concealed in my robes-into his stomach. He yelped, and fell backwards, looking down at the wound that was obviously going to be fatal to him. "You...You are one of them" He stuttered, eyes wide.  
"Darren?" Harkats voice came from behind me-he'd obviously decided to follow us. "Darren? What happened?" I could see his eyes flickering left to write, analysing the situation, before settling on the knife in my hand "You..You did this to Seba?" I didn't reply, and instead turned to run. I wish I could have stopped myself, could have helped him now-but there was nothing else I could do, it was too late.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, yet again, as i ran. My fingers formed the Death Touch sign as i said my silent prayers for the old man. I don't know if anyone was following me, and I didn't care. I just needed to be away from this place before I hurt anyone else-I was already losing my mind. My survival instinct was running on high, I was going crazy. I ran through the tunnels, dragging Larten behind me, until I could see the moonlight in the night. I thought about going back into the forest, but it just wouldn't do. I needed to find a shelter, with food and some blood. I needed to find a way station. I don't know how long we ran for, or how i even managed to go on, but eventually after what seemed like an eternity, I found one. We slowed, and entered. It appeared to be the same Station I had come to rest in with the vampaneze just a few days ago. A few days ago? Just a few days ago I had been preparing for my fourth trial-I was going to be a true vampire. I had friends, people that cared about me, and now...Well, now things couldn't be more different. I was dragged from my thoughts by the sound of movement behind me, and spun on my feet. "Hello?" I called, sure enough by the smell that there was a vampaneze here, rather than a vampire.  
"My...my lord?" A familiar voice called back, and i almost cried in relief.  
"Gannen? Is that you?" He moved from his hiding spot, into the light, so i could see him. I'd never in my life been so happy to see a vampaneze before. "How are you alive? How? Mr Crepsley...he said he killed you"  
"No" Gannen corrected me "He killed many of our clan, but I survived. When Larten Crepsley came after me; he would have killed me if he did not get distracted. Whilst we were in combat the vampiress got stabbed, he heard her scream and turned to see her. I took the opportunity and broke his leg. I would have killed him if not for my chance of escape. The battle was dying down, the mountains entrance had been left unguarded. I pushed passed the remained of the fighting and entered the mountain. If not for the inevitability of getting myself slaughtered, I would have gone up towards the halls. Instead, i headed downwards looking for escape."  
"But...isn't running away dishonourable?" Even vampaneze had rules and standards.  
"Aye., for ordinary vampaneze" He told me "But i am your protector. If there was even the slightest bit of hope you were alive, I had to run and find you"  
"But you didn't find me!" I pointed out "I nearly died"  
"I know." He whispered "I failed. Which is why I have come to the decision I have." He raised an eyebrow, pausing, and noticing Larten stood behind me. I shook my head, as an indication to let Gannen know he was no threat. "You were once a vampire, aye? You learnt their ways, endured their training?" I nodded, wondering why he was stating the obvious, and what that had to do with anything. "i think you may be ready."  
"Ready?" I stared "Ready for what?"  
"If I ever get separated from you like this again, you must be able to defend yourself, or at least be able to run." He smiled, and i opened my mouth in horror as i realised what he meant "It is time you became a fully blooded creature of the night" I shook my head, protesting loudly, but he wouldn't listen.  
"I'm your lord and you have to do what I say. I say I don't want to be fully blooded." I told him.

"No, you instruct us, but you do not say what is best for you. That decision lies with me, as your protector I must do all I can to protect you. And fully blooding you is the best protection I can offer."  
Was there any point in protesting anymore? probably not. He'd force me to do it either way. I could almost say It felt like I was giving up, but there was a large part of my that disagreed. The small voice in the back of my head whispering "_Think about it, it'll be great… Do it Darren, do it…" _I looked at Gannen, then down at the scars on my fingertips. "Do what you must" I ordered, and his grin sharpened. Moments later, our fingers were joined and I felt the last of my humanity dissolve into his veins. I didn't speak, and it seemed to be over much quicker than i expected. I blinked a few times, confused. I felt much more alert than i had done after my first two bloodings. I smiled at Gannen, happily, before turning to Mr Crepsley-My smile dropping. What would he say if he knew what I was doing? He's hate me, resent me, and want me dead. I realised I could never see myself the same again; I was a monster, a killer and a terrible person. I had accepted everything far too early-if i'd had just sat and thought things through, rather than rushing into everything, maybe things would be different right now. I didn't know what else to do now, i needed to sit down and go through everything-help myself. There were, however, only three people in the world i could think of that could help me-and only one that i knew actually might. "I need to see Hibernius" Gannen tilted his head at me in confusion "Hibernius Tall. Mr Hibernius Tall. Gannen, I know where we need to go next."  
"Where, my lord?"  
"The one place I can still call home." I turned to Larten and winked, and could swear i saw a light of recognition flash in his eyes "We need to go back to the cirque Du Freak…."


End file.
